Veronika Wilson

Tell us why you became a teacher

When I was young, I lived in a children’s home and a couple of foster homes and I had some super special teachers that I still remember to this day that really made me feel loved and cared for and I want to be able to be that person for kids on a daily basis

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I’m a special education teacher and a couple of years ago, I had a student that was graduating and she was a part of my class. She had had a horrific car accident that left her with a lot of injuries that affected her daily life and I was so happy to be able to be a part of her graduation and getting her on that stage. Walking her across the stage and helping her achieve something wonderful in her life like graduating from high school, which is such an accomplishment meant the world to me.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would most definitely use part of it to buy materials for my classroom. I would love to buy supplies and materials for the classroom that I wouldn’t be able to buy otherwise to make it a great learning environment for the students. I would also donate part of it to the school in general and then probably use the rest for my son and family at home.